Excalibur Vol 1 49
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** Supporting Characters: * * * * ** ** ** ** Mortimer ** Wallace ** ** Unnamed F.I.6 Telepath ** Unnamed F.I.6 Telepath * * ** ** ** ** * Antagonists: * Other Characters: * * * * * ** ** ** ** ** * Unnamed members of the Corps * Numerous alternate * * * * * ** ** ** ** * * Races and Species: * * * * * * Locations: * ** *** **** ***** ***** ****** * Unidentified reality * ** *** * ** * ** *** | Synopsis1 = In London, a group of Mediators, an ace special forces taskforce enter the warehouse, as Brigadier ‘Inky’ Blott watches with Micromax. His psychic division of F.I.6 has discovered a powerful parahuman within, who they are determined to capture and restore their reputation. As the mediators enter, they see a body that crumples to dust at the touch. As they look up, they see a green figure towering over them, who absorbs the life force of one of their number. They open fire, but it absorbs all of their lives. Outside, the psychic division scream as Necrom makes contact with their minds. He releases their energy all at once, blowing up their van and the warehouse. The Brigadier, and his Captain Bodie struggle to their feet. Suddenly, a clawed hand grabs Bodie, reducing him to a husk, before grasping Brigadier Blott. Micromax swells to an enormous size, but a force field prevents him approaching Necrom, he sucks the life out of Blott. Unable to move, Micromax can’t stop Necrom extending his arm to absorb his life, but before he can, there is a pop. Micromax disappears, and Necrom is alone. However, he is now returned to full strength, and flies toward the tower that spans time, a lighthouse currently occupied by Excalibur… In the lighthouse, Rachel has her head in her hands as she watches Necrom despatch F.I.6, and come after them. As she tells them, Feron shouts at her, saying that she is responsible for allowing Necrom to grow this powerful. Kitty dives for him in response, and as Kurt separates them, he catches a glimpse of something in the corner of his eye. He pushes them away, as an alternate Excalibur from another earth blink into existence, while they fight their version of Kang. They disappear just as quickly, and Alistaire inspects Widget. They soon come to the conclusion that he is benign, and so while Alistaire and Kylun look after him, and Meggan and Cerise get Feron out of the way, the rest are to formulate a battle plan. Back in London, Dai Thomas and the police pick over the remains of the warehouse. As Miss Witherspoon investigates, sensing life, Micromax bursts from the rubble, having shrunk to minute size to escape Necrom. As he explains the situation, Miss Witherspoon gasps. She sees Necrom is nearly at the lighthouse… In the lighthouse, Brian, Kurt, Rachel and Kitty activate the computers that should scan for Necrom, telling them how much time they have. As they enter, Brian hits his head on the door, and is convinced that the door must have gotten smaller during the renovations. As the computer displays Necrom as being an hour away, Brian tries to make the computers focus the cameras on him. He crushes the keys however, and Kitty wonders if the blunder jinx has actually been removed. Brian believes it has, but Kurt isn’t so sure, thinking it might be more manipulation of Excalibur by Merlyn, Roma and others. In the Kitchen, Meggan prepares lunch for the team, but as she does so, they find themselves in another kitchen, where the chef angrily shouts at them. Cerise sends a bolt of light at him, the blast from which is heard upstairs. Kitty phases, and Kurt teleports downstairs, to find their kitchen destroyed, the other kitchen and chef vanished. But as Rachel arrives with Brian, she realises that Kurt hasn’t arrived. Kurt lands in Excalibur’s kitchen, where he finds it covered in dust and cobwebs that have been there for decades. He sees the skeleton of Meggan, and then his own in a corner. As he walks upstairs, he finds himself in an alternate version of the lighthouse, surrounded by the remains of an alternate team. He tries teleporting again, but arrives in the same reality. He tries focusing on the scent of his reality, and tries again, and arrives in the middle of Excalibur. As he tells them about his trip, they decide it’s better to avoid the phantoms of the lighthouse and fight Necrom outside. As they go outside, Brian forces himself through the doorway, convinced the doorways are getting even smaller. In the cellar, Alistaire continues to study Widget’s other bodies, and is very impressed. Kylun continues to guard Widget, as a pair of fighters fly through the room before disappearing. He turns to Alistaire, seeing a gang of alternate Alistaires instead. Kylun is convinced he is going mad, until Kurt arrives and tells him they are all experiencing the increased appearance of Lighthouse ghosts. As he tells them to evacuate, Brian accidentally knocks over some of Widget’s bodies. He suddenly grabs his head, and swells to an enormous size. They are surrounded by many visions, from alternate versions of the Fantastic Four, to dinosaur versions of Iron Man and the Punisher. As the ghosts wink in and out of reality on an almost second by second basis, Necrom appears in flames, and demands Rachel release the Phoenix, and then he will spare Earth. In Roma’s Citadel on Otherworld, Roma and Saturnyne watch as alternate realities converge on Earth-616. She can’t tell its purpose, but then a voice tells her that she was told what she needed to know. Merlyn, who she thought dead, has returned for his final gambit’s resolution... | Solicit = | Notes = * Due to the Braddock Lighthouse being more open to alternate realities, a number of characters float in and out of scenes in the comic. As such, it is impossible to know just what reality these characters hail from. | Trivia = * The cover to this issue is based on the cover to Uncanny X-Men #135. | Recommended = | Links = * plot summary at uncannyxmen.net }}